DVDBeaver Blu-ray/DVD of the Year 2016 Picks are Up!

The 2016 DVDBeaver Blu-ray/DVD of the Year Poll 

is up with contributions from Parallax View's Sean Axmaker, cinemacom.com's Simón Cherpitel, SilverBlueSnow's Rossa Crowe, film historian Stuart Galbraith, Adam Lemke, Gregory Meshman, LensViews' Leonard Norwitz, critic Jonathan Rosenbaum, DVDCompare's James-Masaki Ryan, Per-Olaf Strandberg, Arrow Films' James White, and myself among others highlighting some of the best releases in a year rich with physical media representations of great films in handsome special editions (and some where just the film being available in itself is enough).

LionsGate gets lost in THE SEA OF TREES (review)

REVIEW LINK: LionsGate (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE SEA OF TREES Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.40:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles
• "The Sea of Trees: A Story of Beauty and Tragedy" featurette
• Previews
• Digital HD Copy Code

Severin Films documents THE KILLING OF AMERICA (review)

Long unseen in the US, THE KILLING OF AMERICA is the brutal, unflinching study of violence in the USA detailing all iterations of the new "age of mass murder" from assassinations to serial murderers, snipers to thrill killers, and more in shocking detail.

REVIEW LINK: Severin Films (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE KILLING OF AMERICA Blu-ray specs:

• English Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English LPCM 2.0 mono
• Optional English and English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Sheldon Renan
• Japanese Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 mono
• Optional English and English SDH subtitles
• "The Madness is Real" interview with director Sheldon Renan
• "Cutting the Killing" interview with editor Lee Percy
• Interview with Mondo Movie historian Nick Pinkerton
• Theatrical Trailer

Artsploitation feeds VAMPYRES (review)

Jose Ramon Larraz's seventies lesbian vampire classic gets a remake from Spanish countryman Victor Matellano.  A motorist and three campers happen upon a country house inhabited by two women with a taste for sex and blood-drinking. 

REVIEW LINK: Artsploitation Films (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

VAMPYRES DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles
• Making-of
• Interview with actress Caroline Munro
• Trailer
• Previews

Wild Eye Releasing resurrects JONAH LIVES as THE OUIJA POSSESSION (review)

Bored teenagers hanging out in their parents basement disrespect the rules of the spirit board and inadvertently summon back to life the body and vengeful spirit of Jonah who pursues them and his murderers in a gory night of slaughter.

REVIEW LINK: Wild Eye Releasing (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

THE OUIJA POSSESSION DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Trailer
• Previews

Well Go USA gets BAKED IN BROOKLYN (Review)

REVIEW LINK: Well Go USA (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

BAKED IN BROOKLYN Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Trailer
  Previews

Scream Factory is dreaming of a BLACK CHRISTMAS (Review)

A killer is stirring all through the house on the night before Christmas as a group of sorority sisters deal with obscene phone calls and the disappearance of one of their own in this Canadian horror classic from director Bob Clark (who would later direct the family-friendly A CHRISTMAS STORY).  Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, Andrea Martin, John Saxon, Kier Dullea, Lynne Griffin, and Art Hindle star.

REVIEW LINK: Scream Factory/Shout! Factory (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

BLACK CHRISTMAS Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One:
• New 2K scan from the original negative
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0 stereo, and 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Bob Clark
• Audio Commentary by actors John Saxon and Kier Dullea
• Audio Commentary by "Billy" voice actor Nick Mancuso
• Audio Interview with director Bob Clark (26 minutes)
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Disc Two: 
• 2006 HD Master
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1
• "Film and Furs: Remembering Black Christmas with Art Hindle"
• "Victims and Virgins: Remembering Black Christmas with Lynne Griffin"
• "Black Christmas Legacy" documentary
• 40th Anniversary Panel at FanExpo 2014
• "On Screen!: Black Christmas" TV special
• "12 Days of Black Christmas" featurette
• "Black Christmas Revisited" documentary
• Archival Interviews with Olivia Hussey, Art Hindle, Margot Kidder, Bob Clark, and John Saxon
• Midnight Screening Q&A with Bob Clark, John Saxon and Carl Zittrer
• 2 Scenes with Alternate Audio
• Alternative Title Sequences
• Still Gallery
• Original Theatrical Trailers
• Original TV and Radio Spots
• Reversible Cover
• Collector's Slipcover

Vestron Video and LionsGate dig up RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3 (review)

Romeo and Juliet gets a flesheating twist in the third film in the RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD series.  Curt and his girlfriend Julie discover that his father is involved in mysterious experiments involving Trioxin and the reanimation of the dead into bio-weapons.  When Julie is killed in a motorcycle accident, Curt resurrects her with the Trioxin and inadvertently unleashes a zombie epidemic on the city.  Melinda Clarke (THE O.C.), J. Trevor Edmond (PUMPKINHEAD 2), Kent McCord (ADAM-12), and Sarah Douglas (SUPERMAN) star.

REVIEW LINK: LionsGate/Vestron Video (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3 Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Brian Yuzna
• Audio Commentary by actress Melinda Clarke and visual effects supervisor Thomas C. Rainone
• Interview with actress Melinda Clarke
• Interview with actor J. Trevor Edmond
• Conversation between director Brian Yuzna and writer John Penney
• Interview with production executive David Tripet and editor Christopher Roth
• Interview with effects artists Steve Johnson and Chris Nelson, and filmmaker Anthony Hickox
• Storyboard and Stills Galleries
• Two Trailers

Vinegar Syndrome dons SILK SATIN AND SEX to TURN ON WITH KELLY NICHOLS (Review)

In this double bill from Lawrence Talbot, Jessie St. James gives her lingerie models advice on landing a man through effective sale in SILK SATIN AND SEX while Kelly Nichols reveals the ancient secrets of successful sexual relationships in TURN ON WITH KELLY NICHOLS.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

SILK SATIN AND SEX/TURN ON WITH KELLY NICHOLS DVD specs:

• Silk Satin and Sex (1983):
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Theatrical Trailer
• Turn On with Kelly Nichols (1984)
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono

Vinegar Syndrome nips at JACK FROST (Review)

A serial killer becomes the world's most pissed-off snow cone in the nineties slasher JACK FROST.  After an accident with a truck transporting a government biological experiment, serial killer Jack Frost finds himself with the power to freeze and unfreeze at will, allowing him to invade the town of Snowmonton to exact revenge against its residents.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

JACK FROST Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• DVD: 
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Director's Introduction
• Audio Commentary by director Michael Cooney
• "Happy Scary" interview with actor Scott MacDonald
• "Shooting Frost" interview with cinematorapher Dean Lent
• Reversible Cover
• Limited Edition available directly from Vinegar Syndrome includes a lenticular slipcover. 

Second Run grants THREE WISHES FOR CINDERELLA (review)

REVIEW LINK: Second Run (UK) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

THREE WISHES FOR CINDERELLA DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.37:1 fullscreen
• Czech Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• An Appreciation by Michael Brooke
• Original Trailer
• 2015 Release Trailer
• Essay Booklet by Tim Lucas

Film Movement explores THE QUIET EARTH (review)

The New Zealand eighties post-apocalyptic cult classic THE QUIET EARTH hits Blu-ray from Film Movement.  Waking up in a seaside motel, scientist Zac Hobson discovers that he is apparently the last man on Earth after the catastrophic failure of "Project Flashlight."  No sooner does he declare himself president and then God of the planet than he discovers that he is not the last person on Earth and that the catastrophe that killed all of the other people on the planet is about to happen again.

REVIEW LINK: Film Movement (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE QUIET EARTH Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1
• Audio Commentary by scientist Neil Degrasse Tyson and film critic Odie Henderson
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews
• Essay Booklet by Teresa Heffernan

LionsGate cheers up JOSHY (Review)

Four months after the abrupt and tragic end of his engagement, Joshy invites his best friends to what was meant to be his bachelor party.  Drowning themselves in sex, drugs, and partying, the five men try to avoid confronting the problems in their personal lives that are eating away at them.

REVIEW LINK: LionsGate (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

JOSHY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.40:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles
• Audio Commentary by writer/director Jeff Baena, producer/actor Adam Pally, and actor Thomas Middleditch
• Previews

Maltauro Entertainment warns NEVER OPEN THE DOOR (review)

An already tense Thanksgiving dinner in a cabin in the woods is crashed by a dying man who warns the guests "Never Open the Door" in this black and white homage to the works of TWILIGHT ZONE/ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR director John Brahm (grandfather of the film's producer).

REVIEW LINK: Maltauro Entertainment (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

NEVER OPEN THE DOOR Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-2 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Interview with actress Jessica Sonneborn
• Interview with director Vito Trabucco
• Interview with producer Christopher Maltauro
• Photo Gallery
• Trailer
• "For Maggie" featurette

LionsGate presents Jackie Chan's SKIPTRACE (review)

Jackie Chan stars as a cop pursuing Hong Kong's notorious drug kingpin "The Matador" who gets sidetracked pursuing an American conman (Johnny Knoxville) who is on the run from the Russian mob and The Matador's men when he inadvertently witnesses a murder.  The pair travel across Russia, Mongolia, and China in a series of slapstick adventures and action sequences.  From director Renny Harlin.

REVIEW LINK: LionsGate (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

SKIPTRACE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.40:1 widescreen
• English/Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles.
• Audio Commentary by director Renny Harlin
• "When Jackie Met Johnny" featurette
• Previews

Simply Media laughs with Spike Milligan's Q VOLUME 1 SERIES 1-3 (review)

Spike Milligan's revolutionary sketch comedy series comes to DVD from Simply Media, compiling the surviving episodes of series 1 an the complete series 2 and 3 in a three-disc set.

REVIEW LINK: Simply Media (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

Q VOLUME 1 SERIES 1-3 DVD specs:

• The surviving episodes of series 1 and complete series 2 and 3 on three dual-layer DVDs
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English HoH subtitles

Criterion compiles the TRILOGIA DE GUILLERMO DEL TORO (review)

Criterion combines in a sumptuous boxed set Guillermo del Toro's three pre-CRIMSON PEAK works of Gothic horror: the Mexican CRONOS in which an antiques dealer becomes infected with vampirism through an alchemical device, the Spanish THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE in which a young boy discovers the dark secrets of a remote orphanage during the Spanish civil war, and the Spanish PAN'S LABYRINTH in which a young girl discovers a portal to an underground kingdom that offers escape from her war torn childhood.

REVIEW LINK: Criterion Collection (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

TRILOGIA DE GUILLERMO DEL TORO Blu-ray specs:

• Cronos (1997):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English/Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Surround
• Optional English subtitles
• Optional Spanish or English opening voiceover
• Audio Commentary with director Guilermo del Toro
• Audio Commentary with producers Arthur H. Gorson and Bertha Navarro and co-producer Alejandro Springall
• "Geometria" short (6:53)
• Interview with director Guillermo del Toro (6:27)
• "Welcome to Bleak House" featurette (10:14)
• Interview with Guilermo del Toro (17:36)
• Interview with cinematographer Guillermo Navarro (12:36)
• Interview with actor Ron Perlman (7:25)
• Interview with actor Federico Luppi (5:25)
• Stills Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer (1:29)
• The Devil's Backbone (2001):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary with director Guillermo del Toro
• Introduction by Guillermo del Toro
• "Summoning Spirits" interview with Guillermo del Toro
• "Spanish Gothic" interview with Guillermo del Toro
• "Designing THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE" interview with Guillermo del Toro
• "¿Que es un fantasma?" featurette
• "Director’s Notebook" interactive feature
• Deleted Scenes with optional audio commentary by Guillermo del Toro
• "A War of Value" interview with scholar Sebastiaan Faber
• "Sketch, Storyboard, Screen" featurette
• "Del Toro's Thumbnails" interactive bonus view feature
• Theatrical Trailer
• Pan's Labyrinth (2006):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 7.1 tracks
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary with director/writer Guillermo del Toro
• Director's Introduction
• "Del Toro and Funke" interview with Guillermo del Toro and writer Cornelia Funke
• "Director's Notebook" interactive feature
• Documentaries:
• "The Power of Myth"
• "Pan and the Fairies"
• "The Color and the Shape"
• "The Melody Echoes the Fairy Tale"
• Interview with actor Doug Jones
• Ivana Baquero Audition
• Prequel Comics
• Video Comparisons
• Trailers and TV Spots
• 100-page hardcover book featuring an introduction by author Neil Gaiman, essays by critics Michael Atkinson, Mark Kermode, and Maitland McDonagh, production notes, and original sketches by Guillermo del Toro and illustrators Carlos Giménez and Raúl Monge.

Arrow Video USA tunes in to CREEPSHOW 2 (review)

George A. Romero and Stephen King return - if only on paper - for CREEPSHOW 2 directed by DAWN OF THE DEAD cinematographer Michael Gornick.  In "Old Chief Woodenhead" a cigar store Indian comes to life to avenge his slaughtered shopkeepers.  In "The Raft", a quartet of celebrating high school grads is trapped in the middle of a remote like by a flesh-eating oil slick.  In "The Hitchhiker" a woman in a hurry runs down a hitchhiker who refuses to die no matter how many times she runs him over.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video USA (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

CREEPSHOW 2 Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, LPCM 2.0 stereo, and LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary with director Michael Gornick; moderated by Perry Martin
• "Poncho’s Last Ride" interview with actor Daniel Beer
• "The Road to Dover" interview with actor Tom Wright
• "Screenplay for a Sequel" interview with screenwriter George A. Romero
• "Tales from the Creep" interview with actor and make-up artist Tom Savini
• "Nightmares in Foam Rubber" documentary
• "My Friend Rick" interview with special effects artist Howard Berger
• Behind-the-Scenes Footage
• "Image Gallery" slideshow
• 2 Theatrical Trailers
• TV Spot
• BD-ROM Content: Original Screenplay
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
• Limited Edition containing "Creepshow 2: Pinfall" a booklet featuring the never-before-seen comic adaptation of the unfilmed Creepshow 2 segment by artist Jason Mayoh and a collector’s booklet featuring a new writing on the film by Michael Blyth.

Lionsgate resurrects Vestron Video and C.H.U.D. II: BUD THE CHUD (review)

The CHUDs are loose again in this eighties teen comedy sequel to the original cult classic.  When prankster Steve and nerd Kevin lose a corpse meant for their biology class lecture, they rope best friend Katie into helping them steal a replacement body from the town's disease control center.  What they do not realize is that the corpse is a test subject for the CHUD enzyme to create super soldiers which has the unfortunate side effect of spreading communicable cannibalism.

REVIEW LINK: Vestron Video Collector's Series/LionsGate (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

C.H.U.D. II: BUD THE CHUD Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director David Irving
• Interview with actor Gerit Graham
• Interview with actress Tricia Leigh Fisher
• Interview with effects artist Allan Apone
• Stills Gallery
• Video Trailer

Vinegar Syndrome violates TABOO II/TABOO III (review)

The story of TABOO continues in this pair of linked sequels.  In TABOO II, Paul's girlfriend Sherry is shocked to learn about her boyfriend's relationship with his mother until her brother tries to get into her pants and she tries to get into dad's.  In TABOO III, Paul runs out on his mother Barbara and she finds herself getting jealous and possessive of her younger son Jimmy.  Kay Parker, Honey Wilder, Blake Palmer, Kevin James, Dorothy LeMay, Eric Edwards, and Jerry Butler star.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

TABOO II/TABOO III Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Interview with actor Blake Palmer
• Theatrical Trailer for TABOO III
• Kay Parker's Personal Script

Vinegar Syndrome arms DEATH MACHINES (review)

Madame Lee trains three unstoppable assassins as DEATH MACHINES to horn in on the professional mob hit business on the West Coast.  Using them to take out other assassins, she makes the mob an offer they cannot refuse but soon the killers are out of her control.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

DEATH MACHINES Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• DVD: 
• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Director's Introduction
• Audio Commentary by director Paul Kyriazi
• Interview with actor Michael Chong
• Audio Interview with actor Joshua Johnson
• Trims/Outtakes
• Theatrical Trailer
• Teaser Trailer
• Reversible Cover

Black Friday at Vinegar Syndrome: Joe Spinell is THE UNDERTAKER (review)

Joe Spinell's real "last horror film" was the little-seen THE UNDERTAKER (released previously on DVD in a vastly different cut called THE DEATH MERCHANT) in which Spinell stars as Uncle Roscoe, the local undertaker who murders a series of young women for his necrophilic needs.  When his nephew confides his suspicions to his anthropology professor, they are next on his hit list.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

THE UNDERTAKER Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by writer/co-director/actor William James Kennedy
• Interview with writer/co-director/actor William James Kennedy
• Rough Cut Outtakes
• Promotional Video
• Still Gallery 
• Liner Notes Booklet by Michael Gingold

Available directly from Vinegar Syndrome.

Black Friday at Vinegar Syndrome: Joe Sarno's ALL THE SINS OF SODOM (review)

The "Ingmar Bergman of Porn" Joseph Sarno spins another web of erotic predation.  The son of a preacher man, Henning has become obsessed with capturing the wickedness of women and is looking for a model who is "Eve, Salome, the priestesses of Bala, the princesses of Sodom, Gomorrah, and Babylon all rolled up into one."  He tries to get what he wants from Leslie but the naive seeming Joyce who he lets stay in his back room may be the real "daughter of Satan.'

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

ALL THE SINS OF SODOM Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Available exclusively from Vinegar Syndrome.

Scream Factory is infected by RABID (review)

Marilyn Chambers is "insatiable" again as the carrier of a deadly strain of rabies in David Cronenberg's RABID.  When a motrocycling couple are in an accident, an experimental skin grafting procedure on the woman causes her to develop a bloodsucking organ that turns her victims into rabid killers.

REVIEW LINK: Scream Factory/Shout! Factory (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

RABID Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by director David Cronenberg
• Audio Commentary by Cronenberg book author William Beard
• Audio Commentary by "Golden Goddess" author Jill Nelson and Marilyn Chambers' personal appearances manager Ken Leicht
• Interview with David Cronenberg
• "Independent Spirit" interview with executive producer Ivan Reitman
• "Northern Exposure" interview with co-producer Don Carmody
• "Young And Rabid" interview with actress Susan Roman
• "From Stereo to Video" video essay
• Photo Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spot
• 3 Radio Spots
• Reversible Cover
• Collector's Slipcover

Hutson Ranch taps into THE ID (review)

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET's Amanda Wyss stars in this horror-tinged drama as a woman whose life has wasted away taking care of a sadistic and abusive invalid father.  The sudden reappearance of her high school crush in her life plunges father and daughter into a deadly game of emotional manipulation and physical abuse that can only culminate in murder and madness.  From the producers of NEVER SLEEP AGAIN: THE ELM STREET LEGACY.

REVIEW LINK: Hutson Ranch Media (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE ID Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.40:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 stereo
• Audio Commentary by director/producer Timothy Hutson and actress Amanda Wyss
• Trailer
• Photo Gallery
• Audition Clips
• Behind the Scenes
• "Needs, Wants & Desires" featurette
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes
• Start-up Trailers

Breaking Glass Pictures commits HARA KIRI (review)

Having just met and decided they are not meant for this world, skaters Beto and August decide to go out like kings.  On their planned last day of existence, Beto starts seeing the world anew while August continues to pine for something better and pushes Beto to take the next step with him.

REVIEW LINK: Breaking Glass Pictures (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

HARA KIRI DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• English Closed Captioning
• QA with director Henry Alberto
• Deleted Scenes
• Alternate Takes
• Auditions
• Trailer
• Previews

Big World Pictures presents IT'S ALL SO QUIET (review)

Based on the novel by Gerbrand Bakker, IT'S ALL SO QUIET details the lonely existence of Helmer, a middle-aged farmer who dutifully yet resentfully looks after his invalid father and generally shuns contact with the outside world, more so as family friends, neighbors, and regular tradesmen die, retire, or move on with their lives while he is trapped in an emotional stasis. When he hires a young farmhand, long suppressed desires come to the fore,

REVIEW LINK: Big World Pictures (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

IT'S ALL SO QUIET DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• Dutch Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Burnt-in English subtitles
• Trailer
• Previews 

Wolfe Video spends the holidays in SHARED ROOMS (review)

Gay men often make their own families, which is even more true during the holidays as a group of friends find their holidays rocked by the arrival of a twinkish nephew, a holiday hookup that turns into something more, and roommates forced to share the same bed due to canceled travel plans and an AirBnB reservation.

REVIEW LINK: Wolfe Video (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

SHARED ROOMS DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Rob Williams & actors Alec Manley Wilson, Justin Xavier, Robert Werner, and Christopher Grant Pearson
• Blooper Reel
• Trailer
• Previews

Big World Pictures rears THE ALMOST MAN (review)

With a baby on the way, thirty-five year old manchild Henrik has moved in with his girlfriend into a prefab house and started a buttoned down job.  He tries to repress his partying ways but they begin to manifest themselves in unpredictable ways.

REVIEW LINK: Big World Pictures (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE ALMOST MAN DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• Norwegian Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Burnt-in English subtitles
• Trailer
• Previews

Kino Lorber falls into THE PIT (review)

The Canadian oddity THE PIT stars Sammy Snyders (Tom Sawyer from HUCKLEBERRY FINN AND HIS FRIENDS) as a misfit kid whose only friends are a talking teddy bear and flesh-eating creatures in a pit deep in the woods.  When he must find a way to feed his starving friends, Teddy tells him to feed them all of the people who have been wicked to him.

REVIEW LINK: Kino Lorber (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE PIT Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by Film Historian Jason Pichonsky and Paul Corupe from Canuxploitation.com
• Interview with Star Sammy Snyders
• Interview with Star Jeannie Elias
• Interview with Screenwriter Ian A. Stuart
• Interview with Composer Victor Davies
• Bonus Trailers

Vinegar Syndrome spawns HOBGOBLINS (review)

Rick Sloane's HOBGOBLINS break loose from the film vaults again to terrorize humanity on Blu-ray.  A curious night watchman at a studio lets loose alien creatures that grant the wishes of unsuspecting victims who pay the price for realizing their greatest fantasies.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

HOBGOBLINS Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Disc One (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• Disc Two (DVD):
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Rick Sloane
• "Hobgoblins Revisited"
• Interview with creature creator Kenneth J. Hall
• "Hogboblins: The Making of a Disasterpiece"
• "Hobgoblins Invade Comic-Con"
• Trailer

Arrow Video USA goes underground with C.H.U.D. (review)

People are disappearing beneath the surface of the streets of New York, victims of creatures known as C.H.U.D.s (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers) in this quirky eighties cult classic starring John Heard, Daniel Stern, Kim Greist, Christopher Curry, and featuring early appearances by Patricia Richardson, Sam McMurray, John Goodman, and Jay Thomas.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video USA (US) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

C.H.U.D. Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (Integral 96 minute cut)
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary with director Douglas Cheek, writer Shepard Abbott, and actors John Heard, Daniel Stern, and Christopher Curry
• Audio Track featuring isolated score selections and an interview with composers Martin Cooper and David A. Hughes
• "A Dirty Look" interview with production designer William Bilowit
• "Dweller Designs" interview with special make-up effects/creature creator John Caglione Jr.
• "Notes from Above Ground: The NYC Locations of C.H.U.D." featurette
• "Behind-the-Scenes Gallery" slideshow
• Extended Shower Scene
• Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Two (Theatrical cut)
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dan Mumford
• Collector’s booklet featuring a new writing on the film by Michael Gingold.

Scream Factory is possessed by THE EXORCIST III: LEGION (review)

THE EXORCIST III, the true sequel to William Friedkin's THE EXORCIST, written and directed by author William Peter Blatty from his own novel LEGION finds Lt. Kinderman (George C. Scott) investigating murders that appear to be committed by the Gemini Killer.  The problem is, the Gemini Killer died in the electric chair fifteen years ago on the same night as a certain fateful exorcism.

REVIEW LINK: Scream Factory/Shout! Factory (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE EXORCIST III Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (Theatrical Cut):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Vintage Featurette
• Deleted Scene, Altrenate Takes, and Bloopers
• Deleted Prologue
• Vintage Interviews (38 minutes)
• Photo Galleries
• Two Theatrical Trailers
• TV Spots
• Disc Two (Director's Cut):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Interview with writer/director William Peter Blatty
• "A 'Wonderfull' Time" interview with producer Carter De Haven and more
• "Signs of the Gemini" interview with actor Brad Dourif
• "The Devil in the Details" interview with production designer Leslie Dilley
• "Music for a Padded Cell" interview with composer Barry De Vorzen
• "All This Bleeding" a look at the reshoot and special effects
• Reversible Cover
• Collector's Slipcover

Garagehouse Pictures worships THE SATANIST (review)

Long believed to be lost until a print was recovered in 2014, documentarian Zoltan G. Spencer's THE SATANIST depicts a couple who escape to the country after the husband's nervous breakdown and fall in with a sexy cult of Satanists.  Dancer Pat Barrington stars as the sexy succubus and also appears in the disc's co-feature SISTERS IN LEATHER in which a businessman is blackmailed by a lesbian biker gang when he is photographed having sex with a hitchhiker.

REVIEW LINK: Garagehouse Pictures (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE SATANIST Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English LPCM 1.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by film historians Chris Poggiali and Ashley West
• Blu-ray Teaser Trailer
• Bonus Feature Film "Sisters in Leather" 
• Previews

Simply Media feasts on TANDOORI NIGHTS (review)

Saeed Jaffrey stars in this sitcom look at British and Indian race relations in the eighties as an upscale restaurant owner tugged between tradition and capitalist success.

REVIEW LINK: Simply Media (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

TANDOORI NIGHTS Series 1 and 2 DVD specs:

• Twelve episodes on two dual-layer DVDs
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono

Simply Media invites you to MEET THE WIFE (review)

Thora Hird and Freddie Frinton star in this early BBC domestic sitcom as a plumber and his nagging wife who always have something to fight about but always make up in the end.  Through a pilot and five series, they deal with an out-of-control modern bed, vacation woes, entertaining clients, and dealing with their empty nest.

REVIEW LINK: Simply Media (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver) 

MEET THE WIFE DVD specs:

• Pilot plus six series one episodes and the surviving episodes from seasons two, four, and five on three discs
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English HoH subtitles

Simply Media awakens SLEEPERS (review)

Warren Clarke and Nigel Havers play Soviet spies sent to Britain as sleeper agents in the sixties and forgotten about until their operation is discovered and the KGB, the CIA, and MI-5 are soon in pursuit of two men who have become thoroughly British and have no plans to return home, even if that means leaving behind everything they have built up in the last twenty years and all they have come to care for.

REVIEW LINK: Simply Media (UK) Region 2 PAL (DVDBeaver)

SLEEPERS: THE COMPLETE SERIES DVD specs:

• Four episodes on one dual-layer disc
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles 

Second Run's falling star: STELLA CADENTE (review)

In Catalan director Luis Minarro's is a fanciful depiction of the brief rule of Spain by Amadeo I, Duke of Aosta.  Threatened by assassins and dismissed by his own bank-run government, Amadeo's ideals crumble and he is left to erotic and aesthetic distractions supplied by his confidante and castle servants.

REVIEW LINK: Second Run (UK) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

STELLA CADENTE DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• Catalan Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Documentary film "Familystrip" (69 minutes)
• Liner Notes Booklet by film programmer Neil Young 

Raro Video USA celebrates a SACRIFICE! (review)

Umberto Lenzi inadvertently jump-started the Italian cannibal film subgenre with the Italian take on A MAN CALLED HORSE.  British news photographer John Bradley is in Thailand on a photo story.  When he gets into a fight at a bar and accidentally kills a man, he goes off the beaten track and ends up trapped by an ancient tribe.  Escaping proves to be a problem because enemy cannibal tribes surround the village and the chief's daughter has fallen in love with him.  Released in the states as SACRIFICE! but better known as THE MAN FROM DEEP RIVER.

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video USA (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

SACRIFICE! Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• English and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• "Cannibal World" featurette with Umberto Lenzi, writer Francesco Barilli, and actress Me Me Lei
• Collector's Booklet

Arrow Video USA undertakes THE INITIATION (Review)

MELROSE PLACE's Daphne Zuniga and THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL's Hunter Tylo are among the young and vulnerable pledges who spend the night in a shopping mall with a psychotic killer in the eighties slasher THE INITIATION.  Also stars RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD's Clu Gulager, PSYCHO's Vera Miles, and REMINGTON STEELE's James Read.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video USA (US) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE INITIATION Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by The Hysteria Continues
• Interview with writer Charles J. Pratt Jr.
• Interview with actor Christopher Bradley
• Interview with actress Joy Jones
• Extended Scene
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Justin Osbourn
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic James Oliver

Vinegar Syndrome spends ALL NIGHT AT THE BIZARRE ART THEATRE (review)

Stay up all night with twelve 16mm storefront porn oddities dealing with secret cults, depraved killers, deranged rapists, sex-mad yetis, and sexy conspiracies. 

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

ALL NIGHT AT THE BIZARRE ART THEATRE DVD specs:

• Twelve films scanned in 2K from 16mm archival elements
• Three dual-layer DVDs
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono 

Paramount Pictures colorizes I LOVE LUCY SUPERSTAR SPECIAL (review)

Aired on television in 2015, this colorized I LOVE LUCY special pairs the episodes "L.A. at Last!" in which Lucy goes searching for the stars and William Holden ends up with a pie in his face, and "Lucy Meets Superman" in which Lucy dresses up as Superman for her son's birthday party and requires the rescue of the real thing (George Reeves) when she ends up on a ledge in a thunderstorm.

REVIEW LINK: Paramount Pictures/CBS (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

I LOVE LUCY SUPERSTAR SPECIAL DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles
• Colorized and Black and White versions of both episodes
• Audio Commentary on "Lucy Meets Superman"

Film Movement investigates VIOLENT COP (review)

Takeshi Kitano's directorial debut VIOLENT COP has the comedian playing a stoic, no-nonsense officer who has no reservations about beating criminals into turning themselves in.  When his investigation of a dope dealer's murder leads back to the force, he becomes involved in a race against time to discover the identity of the supplier before his henchman kills anyone who can help him.

REVIEW LINK: Film Movement (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

VIOLENT COP Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• "This Man is Dangerous: The Birth of Takeshi Kitano" featurette
• Original Japanese Trailer
• 2015 Re-Release Trailer 
• Previews
• Collector's Booklet by Asian film curator Tom Vick